Herbert Ross

Directing

Herbert Ross

Born 1927-05-13 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Herbert David Ross (May 13, 1927 - October 9, 2001) was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in the stage and film. Ross was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Martha Grundfast and Louis Chester Ross, a postal clerk. At the age of 9, his mother died and his father moved the family to Miami and opened a luncheonette. In 1942, Ross' stage debut came as "Third Witch" in a touring company of Macbeth. The next year brought his first Broadway performance credits with Something for the Boys. By 1950, he was a choreographer with the American Ballet Theatre and choreographed his first Broadway production, the Arthur Schwartz-Dorothy Fields musical adaptation of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Ross's first film assignment came as an uncredited choreographer on Carmen Jones (1954). In the UK, he choreographed The Young Ones (1961) and Summer Holiday (1963), both starring Cliff Richard. Later, he worked with Barbra Streisand as choreographer and director of musical numbers for Funny Girl (1968). His film directorial debut came with the musical version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), made by MGM-British, with Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark. He went on to direct films involving ballet, such as The Turning Point (1977), Nijinsky (1980) and Dancers (1987). Other movies of critical acclaim followed in the 1970s and 1980s such as Neil Simon's adaptations of his own plays and film adaptations of Broadway productions through his last project, Boys on the Side (1995).

Acting credits

Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels poster
6.4

Shirley MacLaine was the product of a strict middle-class background from which she and her brother, the future actor Warren Beatty, escaped into the fantasy world of show-biz. Her ballet training and her long-legged pixie charm led to rapid success on Broadway in musical comedy. Inevitably, Hollywood called and by 1955 Shirley was cast in Hitchcock's "The Trouble With Harry." It wasn't too long before the fine dramatic roles also came to her opposite the most popular leading men of the time, like Fred MacMurray, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood and Robert Mitchum.

Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels

1996

Follies: In Concert poster
7.0

A backstage documentary film including footage from the legendary 1985 concert performance of Stephen Sondheim's classic musical at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. The plot of the musical centers around a reunion of showgirls who appeared in an annual Follies extravaganza when it was staged between the wars.

Follies: In Concert

1986

No artwork available
NR

A promotional short for The Goodbye Girl. It takes a behind the scenes look at the production, with a focus on actress Quinn Cummings.

The Amazing Miss Cummings: An Actress at Work and Play

1977

Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough poster
6.5

A profile of the life of actor Walter Matthau.

Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough

1997

This is Streisand poster
9.0

Short documentary profiling Barbra Streisand. Explaining her background and introducing her to the world of cinema

This is Streisand

1968

Sondheim on Broadway: Follies - Four Days in New York poster
NR

Documentary that follows four hectic days of rehearsal for a celebrated 1985 concert performance from Lincoln Center of Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies. Including highlights from the show featuring principal performers Lee Remick, George Hearn, Barbara Cook and Mandy Patinkin.

Sondheim on Broadway: Follies - Four Days in New York

1986

No artwork available
10.0

Documentary of the making of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (1977)

The Making of 'The Goodbye Girl'

1977

Jean-Pierre Aumont, charme et fou-rires poster
9.0

A doumentary of the life and career of French actor, Jean-Pierre Aumont.

Jean-Pierre Aumont, charme et fou-rires

1999

Behind the camera

Steel Magnolias poster
7.2

A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.

Steel Magnolias

1989

Footloose poster
6.7

When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock after discovering he's living in a place where music and dancing are illegal.

Footloose

1984

The Secret of My Success poster
6.5

Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York City, but once there, he learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When he visits his uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the mail room.

The Secret of My Success

1987

The Secret of My Success poster
6.5

Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York City, but once there, he learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When he visits his uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the mail room.

The Secret of My Success

1987

Funny Lady poster
5.3

Famous singer Fanny Brice has divorced her first husband Nicky Arnstein. During the Great Depression she has trouble finding work as an artist, but meets Billy Rose, a newcomer who writes lyrics and owns a nightclub.

Funny Lady

1975

Boys on the Side poster
6.4

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane, answers a personal ad from Robin, a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Jane's friend Holly, who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

Boys on the Side

1995

Boys on the Side poster
6.4

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane, answers a personal ad from Robin, a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Jane's friend Holly, who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

Boys on the Side

1995

Max Dugan Returns poster
6.6

An English teacher and struggling single mother has her life disrupted when the father who abandoned her as a child comes back into her life.

Max Dugan Returns

1983

Max Dugan Returns poster
6.6

An English teacher and struggling single mother has her life disrupted when the father who abandoned her as a child comes back into her life.

Max Dugan Returns

1983

California Suite poster
5.9

The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

California Suite

1978

The Goodbye Girl poster
7.0

After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.

The Goodbye Girl

1977

Undercover Blues poster
6.0

When fun-loving American agents Jeff and Jane Blue are called back from maternity leave for a special assignment in New Orleans, the spy parents decide to skip the sitter and give their bouncing baby girl the adventure of a lifetime.

Undercover Blues

1993

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution poster
6.2

Concerned about his friend's cocaine use, Dr. Watson tricks Sherlock Holmes into travelling to Vienna, where Holmes enters the care of Sigmund Freud. Freud attempts to solve the mysteries of Holmes' subconscious, while Holmes devotes himself to solving a mystery involving the kidnapping of Lola Deveraux.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

1976

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution poster
6.2

Concerned about his friend's cocaine use, Dr. Watson tricks Sherlock Holmes into travelling to Vienna, where Holmes enters the care of Sigmund Freud. Freud attempts to solve the mysteries of Holmes' subconscious, while Holmes devotes himself to solving a mystery involving the kidnapping of Lola Deveraux.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

1976

My Blue Heaven poster
6.1

FBI agent Barney Coopersmith is assigned to protect former Mafia figure turned informant Vincent Antonelli. In the witness protection program one is supposed to keep a low profile, but that is something that Antonelli has trouble doing. Coopersmith certainly has his hands full keeping Antonelli away from the Mafia hitmen who want to stop him testifying, not to mention the nightclubs...

My Blue Heaven

1990

My Blue Heaven poster
6.1

FBI agent Barney Coopersmith is assigned to protect former Mafia figure turned informant Vincent Antonelli. In the witness protection program one is supposed to keep a low profile, but that is something that Antonelli has trouble doing. Coopersmith certainly has his hands full keeping Antonelli away from the Mafia hitmen who want to stop him testifying, not to mention the nightclubs...

My Blue Heaven

1990

Protocol poster
5.5

A Washington waitress saves the Emir of Ohtar's life, launching her diplomatic career and a scandal.

Protocol

1984

Goodbye, Mr. Chips poster
6.8

Academy Award-honoree Peter O'Toole stars in this musical classic about a prim English schoolmaster who learns to show his compassion through the help of an outgoing showgirl. O'Toole, who received his fourth Oscar-nomination for this performance, is joined by '60s pop star Petula Clark and fellow Oscar-nominee Michael Redgrave.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

1969

The Last of Sheila poster
7.0

A year after Sheila is killed in a hit-and-run, her multimillionaire husband invites a group of friends to spend a week on his yacht playing a scavenger hunt-style mystery game—but the game turns out to be all too real and all too deadly.

The Last of Sheila

1973

The Last of Sheila poster
7.0

A year after Sheila is killed in a hit-and-run, her multimillionaire husband invites a group of friends to spend a week on his yacht playing a scavenger hunt-style mystery game—but the game turns out to be all too real and all too deadly.

The Last of Sheila

1973

True Colors poster
6.2

Two law school friends find themselves at odds when one becomes a Justice Department lawyer and the other goes into politics.

True Colors

1991

True Colors poster
6.2

Two law school friends find themselves at odds when one becomes a Justice Department lawyer and the other goes into politics.

True Colors

1991

The Owl and the Pussycat poster
6.2

Meek, owlish Felix and strident, catty Doris live in the same apartment building. His incessant typing bothers her; her gentlemen callers bother him. Felix informs the landlord of her activities, so Doris moves in on Felix. When they both get thrown out, they move in with Barney... until they drive him out! That's when Felix and Doris finally decide to put theory into practice. But do opposites attract?

The Owl and the Pussycat

1970

Pennies from Heaven poster
6.1

During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.

Pennies from Heaven

1981